Thanks for visiting. Don't miss your FREE gift.
The Best Diets for Cognitive Fitness, is yours absolutely FREE when you sign up to receive Health Alerts from Harvard Medical School
Sign up to get tips for living a healthy lifestyle, with ways to fight inflammation and improve cognitive health, plus the latest advances in preventative medicine, diet and exercise, pain relief, blood pressure and cholesterol management, and more.
Some medicines affect the way aspirin works. Tell your doctor if you're taking these medicines before you start taking aspirin: It's safe to take aspirin as a painkiller with paracetamol or codeine. But do not take aspirin with ibuprofen or naproxen without talking to a doctor. Aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen belong to the same group of medicines called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). If you take them together, aspirin and ibuprofen or naproxen may increase the chance of you getting side effects like stomach ache. Speak to a pharmacist if you're unsure about dosages and timings when taking aspirin with other painkillers. Aspirin may not mix well with complementary and herbal medicines. It could change the way they work and increase your chance of side effects. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including herbal remedies, vitamins or supplements.Taking aspirin and other painkillers
Mixing aspirin with herbal remedies or supplements
Page last reviewed: 10 December 2021
Next review due: 10 December 2024
Your doctor may recommend taking a daily aspirin if you have certain conditions. However, if you would also like to take ibuprofen, a pain reliever under the brand names Motrin and Advil, you may wonder how big the risk is if you take these two medications together.
This article covers if it is safe to mix aspirin and ibuprofen. It will also discuss other considerations when taking more than one medication at a time.
Because aspirin is a blood thinner, your doctor may recommend you take it to help with conditions that involve blood clots, which occur when blood clumps together. For example, it may help protect from heart attacks, which occur when blood flow to the heart is blocked. It may also help to safeguard against strokes, which occur when the blood supply to the brain is reduced. Ibuprofen can interfere with the blood-thinning, or anti-clotting, effect of low-dose aspirin.
Consider the following:
- If you use ibuprofen occasionally, there's a minimal risk that it will interfere with the effect of low-dose aspirin.
- If you need a single dose of ibuprofen, take it eight hours before or 30 minutes after taking a regular, non-coated and not extended-release, low-dose aspirin.
- If you need to take ibuprofen more often, talk to your healthcare provider about medication alternatives.
Ibuprofen belongs to a class of medications known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs. You shouldn't take another NSAID without talking to your healthcare provider, since they may also interfere with the effect of low-dose aspirin.
Ibuprofen can interfere with aspirin's blood-thinning effect. However, taking ibuprofen occasionally is considered low-risk. If you are unsure, be sure to speak with your doctor before taking both.
The Food and Drug Administration recommendations for mixing ibuprofen and aspirin only focus on low-dose aspirin.
Ibuprofen's ability to interfere with the blood-thinning effects of coated aspirin or larger doses of aspirin is unknown.
To be on the safe side, always talk to your healthcare provider or your pharmacist, who is a medication expert, before taking any over-the-counter pain medications if you're also using aspirin.
Healthcare providers sometimes recommend a daily low dose of aspirin to help reduce the risk of certain heart conditions. However, aspirin can lead to side effects in some individuals like stomach upset and certain types of bleeding.
Daily aspirin may be recommended for people who are between the ages of 40 and 70 years old who:
- Do not currently have heart conditions
- Aren't at risk for bleeding
- Are at risk for developing a heart condition in the next 10 years
Ibuprofen and acetaminophen, or Tylenol, can be mixed.
In fact, research suggests that taking ibuprofen and acetaminophen together in a mixed formula called Maxigesic, provided better pain relief for those who had oral surgery when compared to using ibuprofen or acetaminophen alone.
Your doctor may recommend that you take aspirin daily to prevent certain conditions that involve blood clots, like heart attacks or strokes. However, keep in mind that taking ibuprofen, along with your aspirin may interfere with the aspirin's anti-clotting effect.
While aspirin and ibuprofen may not work well together, ibuprofen can be safely taken along with acetaminophen. Before mixing any over-the-counter medications, be sure to check in with your doctor or pharmacist.
Introduction
Aspirin and ibuprofen are both used to treat minor pains. Aspirin can also help prevent heart attacks or strokes, and ibuprofen can lower fever. As you may have guessed, it’s possible to have conditions or symptoms that both drugs can treat or prevent. So can you take these drugs together? In short, most people shouldn’t. Here’s why, plus more information on the safe use of these drugs.
Both aspirin and ibuprofen belong to a drug class called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). They have similar side effects, and taking them together increases your risk of these side effects.
Aspirin and ibuprofen can cause stomach bleeding, especially if you take too much. That means taking them together increases your risk. The risk of stomach bleeding from these drugs continues to increase if you:
- are older than 60 years
- have or have had stomach ulcers or bleeding
- take blood thinners or steroids
- drink three or more alcoholic beverages per day
- take more of either drug than recommended
- take either drug for longer than directed
Aspirin or ibuprofen may also cause allergic reactions, with symptoms such as hives, rash, blisters, facial swelling, and wheezing. Taking them together increases this risk as well. If you experience any redness or swelling from aspirin or ibuprofen, contact your doctor.
Both aspirin and ibuprofen may also cause hearing problems. You may notice ringing in your ears or a decrease in your hearing. If you do, you should contact your doctor.
You may use aspirin to help treat minor pain. A typical treatment with aspirin is four to eight 81-mg tablets every four hours or one to two 325-mg tablets every four hours. You should never take more than forty-eight 81-mg tablets or twelve 325-mg tablets in 24 hours.
Your doctor may also prescribe aspirin to help prevent a heart attack or stroke. Heart attacks and strokes can be caused by clots in your blood vessels. Aspirin thins your blood and helps prevent the formation of blood clots. So if you’ve had a heart attack or stroke, your doctor may tell you to take aspirin to prevent another one. Sometimes, your doctor will start you on aspirin if you have several risk factors for a stroke or heart attack. A typical treatment for prevention is one 81-mg tablet of aspirin per day.
You can also take aspirin to help prevent colon cancer. Your doctor can tell you how much is right for you for this type of prevention.
Ibuprofen uses
Ibuprofen can treat minor pain, such as:
- headaches
- tooth pain
- back pain
- menstrual cramps
- muscle pain
- pain from arthritis
It can also help lower fever. A typical treatment is one to two 200-mg tablets every four to six hours. You should try to take the lowest amount possible. Never take more than six tablets of ibuprofen in one day.
To avoid serious side effects, you probably shouldn’t take ibuprofen and aspirin together. However, if you feel the need to take both, talk to your doctor first. If your doctor decides that it’s safe for you to take both drugs at the same time, keep an eye out for symptoms of stomach bleeding. If you notice any symptoms, stop taking aspirin and ibuprofen and contact your doctor.